It's of interest to me the notoriety I have achieved through this blog, whether good or bad is a matter of debate as I like to think my actions in game should speak loud enough for my ability. But it seems words are even more powerful medium for inspiration than mere pixels on the internet.

I logged in this evening after having been absent due to real life commitments for a few days, my covops friend checking on secure loot cans dotted around space (which due to me being scarce have expired and been removed by CCP) when she spotted a Thrasher in the direction of the 2/10 plex in Gusandall. I was docked in station and just happened to be in my Ishkur, knowing it a very capable ship and probably a bit cocky, I undocked and warped on over, thinking a Thrasher would be an easy kill.

I was about to be proven very wrong. I warped in and the Thrasher was not inside the plex but waiting about 45 clicks off the acceleration gate. From this could be deduced he was running artillery and I would have to close the distance whilst coming under heavy fire and so I did. I was painted by the Thrasher and he engaged, my shields stripped away in a single volley. I overheated my afterburner to close quicker but he managed to keep range very well, I never came within 9km as my armour took heavy damage. Once I managed to get him scrambled I let lose a flight of Hobgoblin II drones and they streaked across the void as my small armour repairer struggled to keep up, I overheated to get every last bit of repair as I was deep in structure with flames streaking from my Ishkur. The repper was clawing back armour as I continued to dip further and further towards oblivion when my drones finally finished the Thrasher off, the pilot whipping his escape pod off rather sharpish. I grabbed the loot and warped to a safe to inspect the damage.

19% structure, 19% is all that stood between me and a rather expensive loss at the hands of a very well flown tech 2 artillery Thrasher.

Kane Rizzel > nicely doneZarnak Wulf > just wanted a one on one w/ the famous kane colZarnak Wulf > gfKane Rizzel > same to you, gf

Uma Thurman > gf zarnZarnak Wulf > gfZarnak Wulf > waited the last two days for Kane. Interesting journals mateZarnak Wulf > Shouldn't tell folks where you hunt though =)Kane Rizzel > heh, been busy at work so no play for meKane Rizzel > dude, telling people where I am means they come look for me, means more fights :PUma Thurman > and some good blogs too ;)Zarnak Wulf > =)Zarnak Wulf > I emptied all 10 rounds of RFEMP into that thing and it wasn't quite enoughGOUSGOUNIS THEOS > lol i escaped in hull was so close =pKane Rizzel > the ishkur may or may not be overpowered in the right handsKane Rizzel > I was at 19% hull though, you kicked out some vicious damageZarnak Wulf > if they ever increase the clip size. =)Kane Rizzel > I'd fly arty thrashers :P

Thursday, 16 April 2009

Blues, that which is an inevitable consequence of life in space. You need friends in the black, not always to watch your back but sometimes just a voice on the other side helps keep you sane.

It took me a very long time to establish myself in the Evannatar constellation, Gusandall being my home system with the neighbouring Eifer presenting fertile hunting grounds. I initially moved out with just a few Rifters and soon was engaging in combat with whomever came along, amongst others flashfresh (who invited me to his Independence channel) and Lucius Caine. Active corps in the area included The Black Fleet and Mean Corp. I quickly became friends with the guys in The Black Fleet which automatically made me red to Mean Corp but as time went on The Black Fleet and Mean corp became friends and with that so did I.

The Black Fleet eventually dissolved and left Mean Corp as the premier corp in Gusandall. Mean are very efficient with some very good pilots and I've always respected their ruthlesness. Along with Hellequin The Tempered Steel Legion and the up and coming Black Flag, Gusandall and surrounds was awash with blood. It was a good time for me as flying with others was becoming fun again. Carrier kills will do that, it gets the blood flowing and is something one can not do on their own... But I'll continue to push the boundaries until I do.

As is the way of the universe, things never stay the same and egos tend to get in the way of harmonious destruction. Mean Corp and Black Flag had a small disagreement with regards to blues and as is the way with arguments in lowsec it normally ends in gun fire... With me stuck in the middle.

Black Flag eventually went inactive and many of her pilots joined The Bastards, based in Evati, they were constantly roaming through the area and I'm not sure how they became friends with Mean Corp but I was one day minding my own business whilst relieving people of their hard earned spaceships when an invitation to an intel channel appeared and lo and behold, Bastards and Mean were present. Gangs regularily contained mixed corps again and things were going swimmingly until once again egos landed.

Mean Corp and The Bastards were no longer friends and open hostilities ensued. I kept well out the way, choosing instead to purely solo at any opportunity. My only tether to sanity being Independence channel where many of my friends hang out.

I have friends in both corps and as such both are set blue to NovaKane Incorporated, along with my friend Realzonk and his crew in Hellequin, old corpmates Alpha and co in Flipmode Industries (Who do POS piracy in high security space, a very lucrative profession from what I can see) and old corpmates in Discrete Solutions Ltd.

58 Alliances are set red with 87 corporations making my shitlist. Now you may ask why I would need a red list, well it's an easy way for me to tell how badly I'm about to be blobbed, it's a handy intel tool.

Now while my blue list is very small there are others out there who I have flown with who I will not shoot unless shot at first. A sort of respect I show to those people I've gotten to know in Independence and other channels, many of whom I've shot at in the past.

Everything else is fair game and If I happen to shoot at you, it's nothing personal, it's just Piracy and after we can chit chat.

Not sure why I felt the need to clarify my position on blues or as is evident, my lack of blues but I felt it needed saying. I've gotten to know these guys well and through people like Laneth (aka Crusty), Waycharles, Asssassin X, Realzonk, Nozaro and flashfresh I am never ever really alone.

A shout out to Soup Spoon and Estar who keep me entertained on IRC and are the reason I started playing this wonderful game. The rest of the #eve crew at Ars Technica also keep me entertained and are subjected to my mad ramblings and rants on a regular basis (The Ars Technica community has pilots in Goonswarm, Kenzoku, Privateers and many other corporations and alliances but as a community we all enjoy each others company... Well most of the time, we do tend to troll each other and hate each other in internet spaceships)

Friday, 10 April 2009

Greebo could, in fact, commit sexual harrassment simply by sitting very quietly in the next room.

-- (Terry Pratchett, Maskerade)

A Dramiel slices through the night sky of Eifer, the pilot keeping an eye on the scanner as three pilots from the same corp are present on the local comms net. A Maller seems to be sitting idle in a belt, most likely bait.

An intel channel flares to life as a pilot in a Broadsword declares his intention to engage. What follows is excerpts from comms channel, I was on voice comms but couldn't talk as it seems the Dramiel is missing its microphone. It's heavily edited as these are the bits of the fight that stand out from my logs.

Necroth had gone in with his Broadsword to stir the hornets nest, he had tackled the Maller and started spitting round after round at the trapped Amarr cruiser. The Maller is known for being a bitch of a tank and I warped in to see what the commotion was about. A Megathron battleship had decloaked and started moving towards Necroth, I quickly moved in to intercept its course and set about disrupting its microwarp drive with a warp scrambler, trying to make sure it didn't get in range of it's deadly blaster cannons. The intel channel had flared into action as members of Mean Corp started to wake up and head on over to the party. Ships were warping in from everywhere and it was then their Falcon decloaked and started trying to jam the assembled Pirate vessels. I of course am known for my hate of ECM and made straight for the Caldari Recon. I got in range but was jammed continuously for about four cycles. I was feverishly hammering the lock button and was delighted to get one. Warp scrambler kicks in and so do the guns and rocket launcher of my Dramiel.

Falcon gets another jam and bugs out. I head back down to where the fun is and start at the Megathron, lay down the tackle and start killing his heavy armor maintenance drones that were keeping the Maller alive. I kill four when the Falcon re-enters the fray, so off Kane goes again and is quickly locked and jammed by the Falcon who by this point is probably a bit worried by my presence. The Pirates send their drones after him and as I get in range the ECM fails and I get a lock. Falcon goes down hard and I try to lock the pod but it warps out sharpish, I return to the main fight as the Megathron explodes, his pod snagged by one of the Mean crew, I fire a few rounds at the Maller and it too violently explodes, this pod not quick enough to get out and a corpse joins "The Morgue"

A massively enjoyable fight, unexpected as there was no formal gang, just a bunch of people out on a Friday night for some fun and chaos. Props to the Dark Skullz Empire guys, a nice fight, you just met up with the Evannater welcome wagon.

Tuesday, 7 April 2009

- "Remember -- that which does not kill us can only make us stronger."- "And that which does kill us leaves us dead!"

-- (Terry Pratchett, Carpe Jugulum)

It was a surprise to me but I was approached by H Lecter of The Black Rabbits Academy to act as a guest lecturer for young aspiring Pirates.

I was hesitant at first as I generally keep to myself but having thought about it over the weekend it seemed like quite an honour, so this evening I replied to the mail with confirmation of my intent.It's an interesting concept and I hope it goes from strength to strength and I may just learn some things myself.

Sylper Illysten > The thought of a generation of Kane educated pirates fills me with an unreasonable amount of dread

Sunday, 5 April 2009

I've not been out in the black much recently but when I have it's been in either a Succubus or Dramiel. Both fun little ships.

This evening I was in the Dramiel bumming around Eifer and I was starting to feel very alone, nobody seemed to stay in system long enough to warrant any excitement. A Raptor and Hawk passed on by with not so much as a "hello"

What's a man to do? Well, this man is patient, it's not always white knuckle rides but as with everything in life, patience pays off.

Local climbs and falls as the traffic through Eifer continues and every now and again I check the scanner to see if anything tasty has dropped into one of the belts. While I wait, I rickroll the Independence channel with a great rendition of "never gonna give you up"Mid song I was interupted by my scanner, which showed a rather tasty target had presented itself, in the shape of a Stabber Fleet Issue. Quickly narrowed down to a cluster and then a belt I warp in, systems primed and ready. I initiate lock as soon as I get in range but the Fleet Stabber simply warps away.

AAAAAAAAARRRRRRRGGGGGGGHHHHHH

I curse my luck and head back to my safespot as the pilot leaves the local comms net. I get back to my song.

Minutes later the very same pilot appears in local, I decide it's time to get serious and head back to Gusandall to grab something a bit more appropriate. Once in the new ship I headed back to Eifer and warped straight to my safespot to start scanning. Cluster confirmed, warp to first belt. There he is but he's already in warp... To the next belt.

WARP DRIVE ACTIVE

The warp bubble envelopes my ship as I follow. I burst out of warp on top of him and initiate lock, it resolves and I introduce The Stabber Fleet Issue to my own Stabber Fleet Issue.

OH SNAP!

We are now fully engaged in a deadly dance, he's webbed and scrammed, the favour is returned as our guns start to play merry havoc with each others shields. His shields break and round after round of Barrage ammunition bridges the gap. His armour is melting as my shields give in but I have faith in my setup that this fight will end only in Victory.

His armour is ripped away, exposing his juicy hull to the discretion of my autocannons as he explodes in violent fashion. Flubber™ once again proves why she is one of my favourite ships.The pod is locked and scrambled, ransom is offered and declined and a fresh corpse joins "The Morgue"

A rather fun fight and made my night.

Grand Theft Raven

I had dropped off the loot from the Fleet Stabber kill and once again took the Dramiel to Eifer.A few covops were present in system, probing out cosmic anomolies or wormholes, I didn't care which, but what caught my eye was a Raven on scan.

I go through my routine and quickly narrow him down to a belt, time is of the essence and the ability to quickly scan a target is paramount to success. I warp in to see the Raven engaging Angel cruisers, I just can't stand by and let this happen. Me and the Angel Cartel don't really get along but us Pirates have to stick together so I engage the Raven. He sends a heavy webber drone and two Ogre I drones my way and I quickly dispatch them all the while keeping the Raven locked down. I mention in an intel channel I have this Raven locked down and an old friend expresses his desire to teach the Raven not to violence the Angels.

Laneth jumps into Eifer with his Absolution command ship and initates warp to the belt where the Raven was now having a really bad day. The massive Amarr ship bursts into the belt and closes quickly the Raven now in some rather serious trouble as Laneth's lasers tear massive holes in his shields and then armour. Raven hits hull and is about to go down when the pilot ejects his escape pod.

Not on my watch, the pod is quickly locked, scrammed and popped for his insolence, how dare he come in here, attack the innocent Angels and then expect to get away with nought but a Raven loss.

We both stopped firing at the Raven and Laneth said he'd be right back to pick up our prize. I kept the empty battleship tackled so it wouldn't wonder off on its own until Laneth returned to secret away our shiny.

A rather nice nights work if I do say so myself. I head back to Gusandall for a much needed smoke and cup of tea.

Wednesday, 1 April 2009

Had a bit of an incident in the docking bay this evening, I was getting ready to undock when red lights started flashing and collision alarms sounded as I rear ended a Gallente battlecruiser.A very short Gallente pilot stormed out of his pod and raced to inspect the damage, I leisurely made my way to see what was up.As I got closer the little Gallente stood hands on hips and bellowed "I'M NOT HAPPY"I looked at him and calmly said "So which one are you?"

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